Actions Speak Louder Than Words
by Uzuki-Kun
Summary: Hinata could never say what she truly felt to Naruto...but perhaps, it is actions that speak louder than words. Songfic to the lyrics of Faint by Linkin Park


A/N: This is the song "Faint" by Linkin Park. I believe that it fairly portrays Hinata...therefore, I am going to do a songfic about her and it. Right here...right now! Enjoy!

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_I am_

_A little bit of loneliness,_

_A little bit of disregard_

_Handful of complaints_

_But I can't help the fact_

_That everyone can see these scars_

Staring across at Naruto...just like she did almost every day as he ate his ramen. Of course, he was blissfully unaware that she was even there. Perhaps, she thought to herself almost constantly...perhaps Naruto-kun didn't even really know she existed. Perhaps he was so unaware of her that he didn't really care.

"Don't talk...talk like that...Hinata. You...you are strong! You just...just need...need him to see that." A snicker behind her made her gasp, turning in a Jyuken stance.

"You know, cousin. It is pathetic that you still follow Naruto around like a puppy. You are a Hyuuga. Not only that, you are a main branch member. Act like it!" With that, Neji turned, still silently snickering to himself, leaving Hinata feeling even more ashamed and alone.

"He...he's wrong! I am strong! I am!" She turned, staring again at the blond boy across the street.

_I am_

_what I want you to want_

_What I want you to feel,_

_But it's like_

_No matter what I do_

_I can't convince you_

_To just believe this is real._

She had tried everything. She had tried talking to him, but she just got tongue-tied whenever she was around him. She had brought him presents, but he was still unaware of her intentions. She had watched him spar with Sasuke, Kakashi, and Lee. She had even attempted to root for him, though it had been half-hearted when he had smiled at her. She couldn't make him understand how she felt for him. He...he would never understand.

"Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?" She had been so caught up with herself and her self-pity that she hadn't realized that Naruto had actually walked up to her. He had apparently finished his meal...and was standing directly in front of her. Instantly, her face became a bright red, and she fidgeted, poking her fingers together.

"Oh...Na...Naruto-kun. Gomen. I...I...I just...I was just..." She couldn't speak. Something about him made her uneasy inside. She couldn't form words or sentences. She...she was too awkward.

"Hinata. Are you alright? You look funny." His hand slipped to her forehead, checking her temperature. "No...you are definitely hotter. I think you should go lie down." She muttered something uncoherent to him, so he looked at her. "What is it, Hinata?" She gulped, willing her courage up.

"Na...Naruto...Naruto-kun. I...I wanted...I wanted to say...I just...I just wanted to say..." This was it, she told herself. She would tell him. She would do it right now! Even if it killed her later. Even if he laughed at her. Even if he punched her, she would say what she had felt for all those years.

"Hinata? What?" He was standing in front of her, arms akimbo. Now! Now Hinata! Do it now!

"I...I wanted..." She slipped slightly in her wording, so she glanced down, trying to pick the words out. Suddenly, she felt a flash of inspiration, and she smiled slightly. "Naruto-kun...I just...just wanted to say...that...that...I love you!" She heaved slightly, glad that it was done, over. Out in the open. "I've loved you, Naruto-kun. I've...I've loved you for so long now. I...I just...just couldn't say it. I...I couldn't tell you how I felt. I was...was so embarrassed. But...but I love you, Naruto-kun!" She looked up, hope plastered all over her face. However, the boy was gone. He had wandered off, leaving her to herself. She hiccuped slightly as tears threatened to burst from her eyes. Inside, her heart fell a foot.

_So I let go_

_Watchin' you_

_Turn your back like you always do_

_Face away and pretend that I'm not_

_But I'll be here_

_'Cause you're all that I've got._

She found herself an hour later, staring up at the Hyuuga family mansion. She walked in slowly, bypassing Hiashi in the kitchen on her way to her room. She didn't want to talk. In fact, talking would only make the hurting worse, so she also bypassed Neji.

"Hey sis! What's up?" Her sister, as bubbly as always. With a grimace, she turned.

"Please go away. I don't wish to talk to anyone right now." With that, she slammed the door in her sister's face, leaving her on the other side, wondering what was happening. With a cry of lament, Hinata threw herself into her bed, crying into her pillow so no one else would hear her.

"I...I was so...so close! Why! Why can't I...I tell him how...I feel? I'm...I'm so weak!" She continued to cry, feeling her anguish fill up her entire being.

_I can't feel, the way I did before,_

_don't turn your back on me_

_I won't be ignored._

_Time won't heal this damage anymore_

_Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored._

"Hey, Hinata. Are you alright? You don't seem to be yourself today." Her teammate, Kiba, talking to her through her shade of misery. She had met up with them to practice, and already she felt like calling it quits. At the moment, Shino and Kurenai were going over some basic jutsu's, so she didn't feel a need to be there.

"Yes, Kiba-kun. I am...am just fine." She felt like crying. She felt like bursting out into tears. But for the sake of impression, she didn't. She held it in as much as she could.

"Are you sure? You...you just look sad for some reason." Hinata tried to smile, but it came out lopsided.

"No...really, I'm fine, Kiba-kun." He shook his head slightly, looking up at Akamaru, who yipped back.

"Alright. If you're sure, then I won't press the issue." Turning, he walked to his other teammates, leaving Hinata sitting on the ground, wallowing in her own self-defeat.

_I am_

_a little bit insecure,_

_a little unconfident_

_'cause you don't understand, I do what I can_

_but sometimes I don't make sense._

"Today. Today. I don't care what happens anymore. I have to get this out into the open. I have...I have to say something, anyways. I...I can't live this way much longer." She got up, turning and walking away from the training grounds as the other three barely noticed her leave. Soon, she was on the outskirts of Konoha. Taking a deep breath, she began scanning the city for Naruto's most familiar chakra signature. She found it soon, and she smiled. He was at his house, moving slightly. She had caught him at the right time.

"This time for sure!" She raced through the streets, desperate to get to his house before he left or did anything.

_I am what you never want to say, but I've never_

_had a doubt, it's like no matter what I do_

_I can't convince you for once just to hear me out._

She arrived at the same time that he opened the door, a pack on his back. She stopped at the doorway, beginning to pale and redden slightly as he stared at her.

"Hi...Hinata? What is it?" She was trying to catch her breath. Trying desperately to catch it fast enough to tell him what she had longed to say for so long.

"Na...Naruto-kun. I...hold...please...hold..." He watched her strangely.

"Hinata. What? What are you trying to say?" She finally had some semblance of breath back in her, and she gritted her teeth. She had to say something...anything!

"Na...Naruto-kun...I...I wanted to say...I just...wanted..."

"Naruto! Come on, we have to train!" Sakura ran up from behind, reaching over Hinata's shoulder and grabbing the boy. "Kakashi-sensei said for us to meet him at the training grounds. Come on!" As they ran off, Naruto turned.

"See ya later, Hinata!" Hinata, crestfallen, wiped a tear from her eye as the boy and pink-haired girl ran out of view.

_So, I let go watchin' you, turn your back_

_like you always do, face away and pretend that I'm not,_

_But I'll be here cause you're all that I've got. (got got got got)_

"I...I failed again!" She began to cry fitfully now, rubbing an arm across her face. Suddenly, she sensed another chakra signature. One that was reeking of horrible malice and anger. She gasped, looking up as two figures jumped from the roof of Naruto's building and began a swift procession in the direction that Naruto and Sakura had just taken.

"Byakugan!" Swiftly, she studied the two. They wore black cloaks...black cloaks with red clouds. She gasped again. Akatsuki! "No...Naruto-kun!" She began running towards the pair, following them as they followed their path towards the blond boy.

_I can't feel, the way I did before._

_Don't turn your back on me,_

_I won't be ignored._

_Time won't heal this damage anymore_

_Don't turn your back on me,_

_I won't be ignored._

"Sakura-chan, please wait! I...I can't run this fast!" Sakura had been leading him a merry chase through the woods, holding onto him the entire time. Soon, they found themselves in a clearing, alone. Naruto glanced around, then back at Sakura. "Hey...Sakura-chan. I thought Kakashi-sensei was going to meet us here?" She turned, smiling at him.

"I thought we would be better off alone here, Naruto-kun." His eyes widened. She had just used the -kun suffix...for his name. He smiled.

"So...Sakura-chan...this is kinda like a date, huh?" The girl smiled, walking backwards a ways.

"Yes...kind of like that." Suddenly, her hands flew up, and she began laughing hysterically until she disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"Wait...what?" Naruto began looking frantically around, trying to see where Sakura had gone.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." He had no time to guess as to whom the voice belonged to. A hand swiftly descended, hitting him between the shoulder blades. He had no time to react, no time to unleash the Kyuubi's power. No time for anything. He staggered forward, turning slightly. His eyes widened for a moment before closing.

"I...Itachi..." He slumped forward, falling heavily to the ground.

"Well, that was much easier than anticipated." Turning to his blue cohort, Itachi Uchiha pointed at Naruto's limp body. "Pick him up and let us leave."

"Stop! You won't touch...Naruto-kun!" Both Akatsuki turned, staring at the girl who had just appeared from the woods. Hinata glared at them both, getting into a Jyuken stance.

"Hmm...so, a Hyuuga, hm? Interesting. But, foolish on your part. Kisame, if you would..." Itachi looked at his partner, who smiled, his pointed teeth glistening in the sun.

"Hehehe...sure thing, Itachi-kun. Alright, brat! Let's see how you fare against this!" He brought his hands up, forming hand-signs. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" A large wall of water suddenly sprouted from behind the master of water techniques, and a large dragon appeared, opening its mouth in a rabid hiss. It leapt forward, going towards the small girl as her eyes penetrated the reality of the moment.

_No! Hear me out now!_

_You're gonna listen to me like it or not!_

_Right now! Hear me out now!_

_You're gonna listen to me like it or not, right now!_

"Shugohakke Rokuiyuu Yonshou!" Hinata began flinging out her hands, creating pinpoint areas of chakra, which sliced the air at an alarmingly high speed. As the dragon of water began to tear into the defensive attack, Hinata began rotating faster. Caught in the shield, the dragon disintegrated rapidly, being torn apart by the girl's technique. As it dissipated, she stood in the center of the glade, breathing heavily. Itachi and Kisame gave each other a glance before Kisame smiled once more.

"Has some spunk, this one. Good. I haven't had a good fight in a long time." He brought out his sword, Samehada, leveling it squarely at the girl. "Very well, then. Let's go!" Taking off, he ran full tilt at the small being in front of him, who stared defiantly in front of her.

"You cannot have Naruto-kun! I...I won't allow you to!" As he brought his sword up, he smiled with delight.

"DIE!" Slicing down, he cut Hinata in half, smiling as she fell away. Then, she disappeared in a poof. Looking hard at the spot she was just in, he growled. "Damn little flea!"

"Jyuken!" He felt the tap behind him, smiling as another rained in, then another. Hinata flew as fast as she could, striking each tenketsu point with accuracy. Ten...twenty...forty...fifty! A backhand across her face turned her around in the air, flinging her some distance away and leaving her on the ground.

"Hehehe...nicely done. I can feel my chakra flow ebbing a little, but it isn't really that much of a big deal. I have plenty!" He began to walk forward, his sword out.

"Kisame! You've had your fun. Come now, let's go." Kisame glared over at the kunoichi before turning back to his partner, hefting his sword across his shoulder.

"Aw...you always take the fun out of living, you know that, Itachi-kun?" A grunt made him quail slightly, so instead of pressing the issue, he walked to where Naruto lay, reaching down and picking him up.

"No...Naruto...Naruto-kun..." From her position on the ground, she could clearly see what was happening...but she felt so weak...so useless. Even with fifty strikes, she hadn't made a dent in the blue guy. They were both too strong. It was inevitable...she would lose.

"Come, Kisame. Let's go." They turned, walking away from the field with Naruto thrown across Kisame's shoulder.

"Na...Naruto-kun...Noooo!"

_I can't feel, the way I did before._

"Jyuken!" Kisame was distinctly aware of a painful sensation behind him.

_Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored!_

"Jyuken!" Kisame grunted slightly as a wave of chakra pulsed through his back.

_I can't feel, the way I did before._

"Jyuken!" The attacks were coming faster now, with more ferocity and far more pain. He staggered under the barrage.

_Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored!_

"Jyuken!" He grunted again as her attack rendered his right arm useless, making him drop his burden on the ground. "Jyuken!" Another attack deadened his leg, and he knelt heavily on the ground. Hinata was about to attack again as a hand grabbed her throat, yanking her off the ground. Two heavily red eyes met hers, and she was forced to stare into Itachi's orbs.

"Girl...you are annoying me. I will deal with you...right now."

"I don't think so, Itachi." Itachi's eyebrow rose, and he turned to see Kakashi enter the glade, hands across his chest. "You didn't think you would actually get away, did you?" Itachi huffed, elbowing Hinata in the stomach before dropping her like a rock. She hit the ground, hacking and wheezing as Itachi walked a short distance to where Kakashi stood.

"Hatake...Kakashi. Well, this is a surprise. Shouldn't you be doing something useful? Like...reading a book or something?" Kakashi smiled under his mask, bringing out a kunai that he twirled slightly in his hand.

"Yes, I should be reading right now. So, you can see why I am so upset with you." Dashing forward, they locked kunai, each trying to overbalance the other.

"Kakashi, you know that you are doomed. I will send you to Tsukiyomi...and from there, you will die!" Itachi's eyes began to focus into the Mangekyou Sharingan, threatening the silver-haired nin, before a green flash flew in, knocking Itachi off center and sending him sprawling.

"Aw! My rival fights his rival! Well, I will show you that I, Mito Gai, the Glorious Green Beast of Konoha, am the best around! I will fight him for you, Kakashi! When I have defeated him, that will prove that I..."

"Are long-winded..." Kakashi said under his breath, watching as Itachi picked himself up from the ground.

"Hmm...very well...I suppose I have no choice." Suddenly, the ex-Konoha nin disappeared, standing behind where Hinata lay. Picking her up swiftly, he held a kunai to her throat, staring down the two Jounin. "We will leave now. Follow us, and the girl dies. Kisame, pick yourself up. You're a disgrace." With a grunt, Kisame hefted himself off the ground.

"Sorry, Itachi-kun..." Going to where Naruto lay, he grabbed the boy up once again, losing his balance slightly as his chakra depletion told on him. Having situated the boy firmly enough on his shoulder to not lose his grip, he smiled over at the other two.

"Well...see you two later! Hehehe..." Together, the duo backed away. Gai made a motion forward, but Kakashi grabbed his arm, shaking his head as the two continued to back up.

"I said...you won't take Naruto-kun!" Both turned at the exact same time, each receiving a Jyuken directly to the heart as Hinata's clone vanished from Itachi's grasp. Two more Jyuken each shut off the chakra to their hands, and Kisame again dropped his bundle. Itachi dodged another, hopping backwards slightly. He coughed slightly, tasting blood in his mouth. _That damn little brat!_ Turning his head around, he gazed sorrowfully as Kakashi and Gai began running towards them.

_Time won't heal, this damage anymore_

_Don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored!_

"Kisame...this is lost. Come, let us away!" Before anyone could blink, both were gone, vanishing into the haze of the afternoon. Kakashi and Gai arrived as Hinata sank to the ground, staring at Naruto's still unconcious form.

"I...I did it..." She said to herself. Then, she blacked out, leaving Kakashi and Gai staring at each other, then back at the two on the ground.

It was morning of the next day when Hinata awoke in her bed, feeling her head pulse. She must have sustained some damage to feel as hurt as she did. "What...what happened?" Suddenly, it all came back to her. The fight in the forest, Itachi...Kisame...the two Akatsuki members. Saving Naruto...barely. "Was it...was it all a dream?"

"Hinata! Visitor! It's Naruto!" She jumped at Neji's voice. Naruto-kun? Here? What did he want? The blond boy immediately emerged in her doorway, smiling at her with his flowers at his side.

"Hiya, Hinata-chan! Here, I brought these for you!" Setting down the flowers on the table, he smiled at her as he stared.

"Na...Naruto-kun! Um...um..." She couldn't speak. _Not this again! _She opened her mouth, willing the words out.

"Naruto-kun! I...I..." Suddenly, she stopped talking, staring wide-eyed at the wall as a pair of lips locked to hers. She couldn't believe what was happening! Her face turned a bright crimson as Naruto detached himself. Smiling down at her, he took her hand.

"Arigatoo, Hinata-chan. Arigatoo." Her heart flew.

_I can't feel the way I did before, _

_don't turn your back on me, I won't be ignored!_

_Time won't heal! This damage anymore!_

_Don't turn your back on me! I won't be ignored!_

**The End!

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A/N: This was long! But it was well worth the effort, I thought. If you liked it, then please review!

The jutsu's used.

_Shugohakke Rokuiyuu Yonshou - _Guardian of 8 Divination Seals: 64 Strike

_Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu _- Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique


End file.
